


Avatar: Korra of the Southern Water Tribe; Book 1 - Earth

by Kenobi97



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, The First Avatar - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-10 12:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14737010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kenobi97/pseuds/Kenobi97
Summary: Earth. Fire. Air. Water. When I was a boy, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, told me the story of how he and his friends heroically ended the Hundred Year War. Avatar Aang accomplished many remarkable things in his life, but sadly, his time in this world came to an end. And like the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of the Avatar began anew.Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story.  This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.





	1. Prologue - A New Avatar

My first memory was looking into the smiling face of my mother as she held me in her arms.  I cooed as she stroked my cheek and laughed when my father tickled my toes.  I was just an ordinary baby girl … only I wasn’t.  I was born in the Southern Water Tribe in a small fishing village far off from the great Harbor City.  My father, Tonraq, was a fisherman and hunter along with most of the men.  And my mother, Senna, was a healer and the only water bender in our village.  I could still picture the way that she would make the water dance in thin twirling strands above my crib when I was a baby.  She would smile when I reached up to touch the water.  One day when I was four, I was playing with a few of my friends.  We were just jumping in puddles, but I felt a tug in my gut and reached out my hand towards one of the pools of water.  Suddenly, I was able to make the water dance too.  It flowed towards my hand and I cradled it giggling before tossing it in the air and then pushing it in a thin stream back to the puddle.  I turned and saw that mom had seen and smiled broadly.  Even at that young age, I could tell that mom was proud I was a water bender like her.  After that, each week we’d spend a day going over the basic forms of controlling water.  But everything got far more complicated when I was five years old.  It was a cold winter even by the standards of the South Pole, so we all had to bundle up whenever we went outside.  One day, I was so cold that my nose began to sniffle, and I sneezed.  But this wasn’t a normal sneeze, I felt a burst of air leave my nose, and I flew up ten feet in the air before falling down into a pile of snow.  I looked over at my parents and saw shock.  Awe.

Not long after that, three men wearing navy robes with a white flower embossed on them came to our house.  Mom was really nervous and had cleaned our small hut ten times.  She still clutched at the broom when they walked inside.  I figured that these must be important folks.  One of the men was bald with a goatee and had a funny looking blue arrow painted on his head.  He knelt down and smiled at me saying, “Hello my name is Tenzin.  What is yours?”  I smiled back at him and replied matter of factly, “Korra.”  He nodded and then opened a trunk they had brought with them.  I gasped with glee to see that it was filled with toys.  The man said to me, “You can pick any four toys that you’d like, but only four, so choose carefully.”  I bit my lip in thought and began looking through them all.  This was the most important decision of my young life thus far.  Finally, I had picked my four toys.  I held in my hands, a small doll wearing blue cloth, a clay Koi fish, a wooden dragon, and a silly whistle in the shape of a bison.  I giggled and blew on the whistle, so hard that I accidentally blew the hat off of one of the other men there.  The man named Tenzin had wide eyes after that happened and said with a small smile, “Korra, why don’t you go outside and play with your new toys.  We’d like to speak with your parents for a moment.”  I nodded and ran outside, but something felt odd about the entire encounter, so I quietly crept under the window of our hut to listen.  I heard the words, “We’ve scoured the Northern and Southern Tribes, even throughout the Foggy Swamps, but I think it is conclusive that your daughter is the Avatar.”  I heard my mother gasp and say, “What does this mean?”  The man named Tenzin replied, “It means that your daughter has a great destiny laid out before her.”  I was too young to understand what any of it meant.  All I could grasp was that they thought I was important.  They must have liked the toys I had picked and thought I had good taste.  That night I fell asleep holding onto my new doll with the blissful ignorance of childhood.

Life didn’t change very much after that for the next two years.  I still had my water bending training with mom each week and I was rapidly expanding to more advanced forms.  I still played with my friends and went to classes in the small village school house.  Nobody mentioned the word ‘Avatar,’ except in history class, and I began to push that one day from my mind.  At least until one fateful night.  I was asleep in my bed, covered in fur blankets to ward off the cold of winter, when I heard a noise.  At first, I thought it was one of my parents, but the sound was wrong. These footsteps sounded nothing like the comforting noise of mom and dad walking through our home.  I curled up beneath the blankets in fear at the prospect of an intruder in our home, and felt tears fall upon my face when I heard the words, “Die, Avatar.”  Suddenly, it felt as though I receded from my own body and another force came forward to answer the call of danger.  My eyes began to glow, and I reached out with my hand.  Pushing with all my might, I felt the wind whoosh out from me with the force of a hurricane and blew the knife away from the assassin’s hand.  He was slammed against the wall of my room at a back breaking speed.  I felt exhausted and was on the brink of passing out from that mysterious exertion.  In the next instant, mom was there and had formed the water from our wash basin into ice daggers which she plunged into the man’s chest.  She said in a fury, “Stay away from my daughter.”  More assassins emerged from the shadows.  Mom held them off with water bending and dad’s spear was a blur as he stabbed out at the attackers.  It still looked as though they would be overrun until blasts of water, air, and fire lit up the entrance of our home.  The three men who I had seen two years before rushed inside and said, “All of you have to come with us right now.”  We rushed out and Tenzin used a gust of air to lift us all on top of a huge furry animal with six legs and a large tail.  He jumped up himself, taking the reins and shouting over the roaring Southern winds, “Oogey, yip, yip.”  In an instant we were soaring through the sky and I gaped at how far away the ground below us looked.  Seeing our home and the village recede into the distance I knew only one thing was certain, my old life was gone.  I would need to embrace a new one.


	2. Chapter 1 - Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

“Korra!  Korra wake up!”  I groaned wearily.  Slowly opening my eyes, I saw the kind face of Tenzin.  It was a surprise to see him, he split his time between the Compound and seeing his family at the Southern Air Temple.  I hadn’t heard that he had returned.  I replied, “Five more minutes, Master Tenzin.”  Suddenly, my blanket flew into the air and on the floor.  Resignedly I stood up and Tenzin said, “Today is important, you may have mastered water bending, but it is time for you to learn the next element.  Earth.”  I had been training under Master Katara for the past five years in the ice fortress that the Order of the White Lotus had constructed near the South Pole.  The previous day, she had bowed to me and said proudly, “There is nothing more I can teach you, my girl.  Aang would be proud to see the young woman you are becoming.”  I bowed to her and replied, “It’s easy to excel when you have the best teacher.”  I was twelve years old and for these five years had known nothing of the world outside of this compound.  I practiced bending, meditated, and learned history and philosophy.  Aside from eating and sleeping, there was little time for anything else.  As Tenzin waited outside my room, I changed from my sleepwear into my heavy fur-lined tunic and trousers dyed blue in the traditional water tribe style.  Even on this summer day, the weather would be bracingly cold.  I looked in the mirror at my copper face, arctic blue eyes, and dark hair as I tied it into a ponytail.  Slipping into my sealskin moccasins, I ran out the door and fell into step beside Tenzin.  He said to me, “Suyin is eager to start teaching you.”  I smiled excitedly and replied, “I can’t wait to learn a new element.  So, when are we headed to the Southern Air Temple?”  Tenzin’s eyebrow rose, and he said, “We aren’t.  Suyin is coming here with our children from the Southern Air Temple to train you.”  I sighed and replied disappointedly, “If I’m the Avatar I need to be a part of the world I’m going to serve.  Your wife shouldn’t have to leave her home just to teach me.”  Tenzin shook his head resolutely and said, “The world is a dangerous place Korra.  Here, the White Lotus is able to protect you and your parents, but you need to master the elements before it is safe to travel the world.”

In the courtyard, I saw a sky bison descending from the clouds.  Four figures sat on its back.  When the bison finally landed I could recognize those who had ridden it here.  The adult holding the reins jumped down.  She wore metal armor and had steel gray hair with piercing green eyes.  I recognized her as Suyin Beifong, granddaughter to Queen Toph Beifong of Omashu, and wife to Master Tenzin.  Two of the smaller figures floated down from the bison.  Air benders.  They must have been Tenzin’s daughters.  The other girl also jumped down like her mother.  I had heard that Master Tenzin had an earth bender daughter as well.  One of the air benders and the earth bender looked to be close to my age, but the youngest girl couldn’t have been older than five and giggled as her pet lemur licked her face.  As they walked over to me, I bowed my head and said, “Thank you for coming so far from your home to teach me, Master Beifong.”  When I looked back up, I saw a smile on her face, but her eyes had a steely determination to them as well.  She said resolutely, “You are welcome.  It is my honor to teach the Avatar.  Our journey together has just begun young one, and by its end you will be a master earth bender.  I swear it.”  She walked over to talk with Tenzin and I saw the two of them kiss tenderly.  Bleh.  Their children walked over towards me.  The elder air bender bowed and said, “My name is Jinora.  It is a privilege to meet you.”  The earth bender reached out to shake my hand with a strong grip and said, “My name is Opal.”  The smallest air bender giggled and zoomed around us on an air scooter saying, “I’m Ikki, you look really young and pretty!  But I heard you were our great grandfather!  That’s silly.”  I laughed at her words and smiled at the other two saying, “I’m Korra, it’s nice to meet you all.”  Being cooped up here, I had no chance to make friends my own age.

I walked beside Suyin towards a stone courtyard.  My eyes widened.  This was ice just yesterday.  Suyin must have saw my surprise because she said with a chuckle, “We can’t earth bend without earth.  Teams of polar bear dogs carried this here, so you could train.”  I nodded at her words.  We stood opposite to each other and she said to me, “Tenzin tells me that you are a master water bender and show some ability to air bend.”  I nodded.  She continued and said, “Earth bending is quite different from both other styles.  Water is about a fluidity of motion.  Push and pull.  Air is about evasion and redirection.  Earth requires you to plant your feet and make yourself immovable.  Like a rock.”  She demonstrated a stance with her legs spread in a wide crouch.  I tried to mimic her position but ended up slipping and nearly falling before using a blast of air to right myself.  She walked towards me and said, “Let me show you.”  She positioned my arms and legs in a stronger stance.  She then called across the courtyard, “Tenzin.”  I felt a tremendous gust of wind buffet my body and I flew through the air until I pulled snow that lay upon the ground forward to catch me and deposit my body back on solid footing.  Suyin said resolutely, “With a firm enough stance, that attack will not move you.”  I stomped back over stubbornly and imagined myself digging my feet into the earth and positioned my arms in front of me to absorb any attack.  Tenzin sent a blast of air towards me, and I fell again.  Suyin helped me up and said, “You will get it, I promise.”  After training was over, I was sore from falling again and again and again.

That evening, we all ate dinner at the long table in the main hall.  A delicious feast of seaweed noodles, stewed sea prunes, and arctic hen sat arrayed on the table before us.  I hungrily slurped up the noodles and blushed with embarrassment when everyone’s eyes were on me for eating so loudly.  But bending training worked up an appetite.  Master Katara placed kisses on the cheeks of her great grandchildren and said, “How have your studies gone little ones?”  Jinora smiled slightly and replied, “Father said that we’d be heading out on a tour of the Western Air Temple soon.  The architecture there is quite beautiful, and the air acolyte archaeologists believe there may be some hidden libraries containing lost air bender texts.”  Opal said, “I’m headed to Omashu in a few weeks to learn from Queen Lin.”  Ikki exclaimed excitedly, “And I’m going to Kyoshi Island to surf the Elephant Koi!”  Katara laughed at that and replied, “Just like your great grandfather.”  My face fell slightly hearing about all their exciting trips.  I loved the Southern Water Tribe, but just living inside this small fortress was maddening.  I had memorized every square inch of its passageways and walls.  My spirits were only slightly buoyed seeing Tenzin trying in vain to choke down the stewed sea prunes.  For some reason, he had never appreciated the delicacy.  That night as I tucked myself into bed, I felt mom place a kiss on my forehead and say, “Goodnight sweetie.  Sweet dreams.”  I smiled and replied, “Sweet dreams mom.”

That night my dreams seemed vivid … real.  _I saw a man with a blue arrow tattoo and a neatly trimmed black beard.  He stood before a large throne and had a steely look of resolution in his eyes.  Somehow, I knew that he was … me.  Avatar Aang.  At his side was a young woman in her late thirties with the milky colored eyes associated with blindness.  She looked off to the side rather than at the glowering king upon the throne, and said in an authoritative tone, “Omashu will not bow to your tyranny any longer Kuei.  I hereby declare the independence of my Kingdom.”  The two began to walk out of the throne room when a series of stone fists were shot at them from men lurking in the shadows.  Without pausing stride, the blind earth bender raised a wall of stone to block their attack and then slammed her foot to the ground creating a wave of rock that tossed the warriors aside._

I jolted awake and saw that it was still the middle of the night.  “Toph.”  I muttered the woman’s name.  She was the former Queen of Omashu and had been succeeded by her daughter Lin, when she stepped down several years ago.  But Avatar Aang knew her as a teacher and a friend.  My past life was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.  I stood up from my bed and tiptoed through the empty hallways until I reached the library.  I quickly found the section pertaining to Earth Kingdom history and found books covering the most modern era of the past century.  Paging through, I read about the waning years of the Hundred Years War, the coup of the Dai Li and the conquest of Ba Sing Se, the White Lotus victory in the retaking of Ba Sing Se, and King Kuei’s return to the throne.  The crisis of Yu Dao and Avatar Aang’s decision to side with the Fire Nation colonists versus the invading Earth Kingdom soldiers was controversial to this day.  Aang split off the colony of Yu Dao from the mainland as Avatar Kyoshi had several centuries before with her homeland.  Toph settled in Omashu after the end of the war and began an earth bending academy.  She taught metal bending to a group of elite disciples.  After teaching metal bending to the aging King Bumi, he abruptly made her his heir since he had no children of his own.  The text mentioned that his motives were often mysterious to his subordinates and his eccentric personality was the stuff of legends.  Toph Beifong became the Queen of Omashu ten years after the war ended upon King Bumi’s death.  Tensions with the city of Ba Sing Se began heating up.  Following the Yu Dao incident, King Kuei had become increasingly tyrannical, levying crippling taxes, conscripting thousands of soldiers into his army, and passing numerous arbitrary edicts.  Finally, twenty-five years after the end of the war, Toph traveled with the Avatar and her personal guard of metal benders to Ba Sing Se where she formally declared independence.  Numerous other city states followed and Queen Toph became the head of a coalition that called themselves the Free Earth Cities.  Only the power of the Avatar and King Kuei’s fear of Aang kept Ba Sing Se and its vassal states from declaring open civil war.  Tensions escalated to this day under the leadership of King Kuei’s daughter, Queen Hou-Ting.

This was what Aang was trying to tell me.  The Earth Kingdoms needed my help.  Without the Avatar, Ba Sing Se threatened to destroy the other kingdoms.  I crept back towards my room and wrote out a message for my parents and my teachers:

_Thank you for keeping me safe and teaching me everything that I know.  But it is time for me to begin fulfilling my destiny.  Visions from my past life have made it clear to me that I need to seek out my own path in the Earth Kingdoms.  I love all of you, and I promise to return.  Avatar Korra._

I wiped away a tear from my eyes, realizing that I wouldn’t be seeing my parents for some time.  I changed into my heavy tunic and trousers and filled my pack with water bending scrolls that Katara had given to me as a gift and a beautiful smooth stone that my mother had given me as a child.  It must have had spiritual properties, because it calmed me every time I held it.  I also packed a large supply of dehydrated seal jerky.  It would last a long time.  I packed a map to guide me on my way.  And finally, I filled the pouch holstered to my hip with water from the wash basin.  A water bender should never be far away from her element.

The White Lotus kept a vigilant watch over the keep, so it was imperative that I move forward cautiously.  I managed to bend a tunnel through the ice, sealing it behind me.  Once I reached the surface several miles away from the fortress, travel was far quicker.  I surfed across the surface of the ice until I reached the great ocean.  There I found a boat lapping at a dock.  Realizing that this was likely the means for a fisherman’s livelihood, I crafted my own boat from a block of ice in an instant and leaped aboard.  I summoned the powers of the full moon and created a fierce wave to propel my icy boat forward.  I was far out to sea and unable to see my home any longer when I allowed the boat to come to a stop.  I sat down and felt tears come to my eyes.  A fear gripped at my throat.  The fear that this was all a huge mistake.  That the sinister forces that tried to kill me as a child would never stop hunting me in the outside world.  I was nearly deciding to turn my boat back around and give up when I saw a figure of pure light descending into my vision.  It was a beautiful woman with white hair and a billowing white dress wreathed in the light of the moon.  She wiped away the tears from my eyes and said, “Hello Korra.”  I sniffled and asked, “How do you know my name?”  She smiled and replied, “I was friends with one of your past lives, young Avatar.”  I gasped and said in awe, “You’re Yue.  The moon spirit.”  She nodded and said to me, “I see the fear in you Korra, but you do have a destiny set out before you.  The world will always need its Avatar.  Trust your heart.”  She shimmered away into nothingness.  My resolve hardened, and I rushed forward through the water with the force of a tidal wave at my back.  I spent days and nights guiding my small boat through gale force winds and treacherous seas until my map finally led me to my goal.  Kyoshi Island.


	3. Chapter 2 - Animal Guide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

It took much of my concentration to maintain my ice raft in the warm waters around the island.  I couldn’t help but grin as I watched beautiful orange, red, and purple elephant koi dancing their ballet among the waves.  But, I sensed something more powerful in the sea below.  Roiling.  Hungry.  An immense black and gray serpent broke the surface of the sea.  Its piercing green eyes stared down at me with a primal urge to feed.  I propelled myself towards the shore with as much speed as I could muster and deflected the spouts of water that the creature shot at me with my water bending.  Once I reached the sandy shore out of breath, the serpent sunk back below the waves.  Despite the danger, a part of me was sad to see it go.  The creature had a beauty to it.  An ageless wisdom.  I felt myself collapse on the sands as I lost consciousness.  _I saw Avatar Aang as a boy about my age.  He … no, I was in the water and had apologized to Katara for letting the attention of being the Avatar go to my head.  She replied with a jovial tone, “Well get out of the water before you catch a cold, you big jerk!”  I began swimming back, but then saw the looming dorsal fin of the sea serpent._ I jolted awake.  My hair was caked with sand and I was sore all over.  I saw girls wearing armored green dresses, along with white and red face paint standing above me.  In their hands were fans that seemed familiar to me.  The leader of their group wore the robes of an elder rather than the armor of a warrior.  She looked to be about seventy with the copper skin of the Southern Water Tribe.  She said curiously, “Who are you child?”  I managed to mutter out before losing consciousness again, “My name is Korra.  And I am the Avatar.”

I awoke on a bed so comfortable that I felt like I could sink into it.  The blankets were silk.  I was sure that I must be hallucinating again.  Or I had died and gone to heaven.  The old woman looked down at me and said, “You gave us quite a scare young Avatar.  You passed out from exhaustion.”  I sat up and replied, “I need to continue my journey to the Earth Kingdoms.”  She smiled and said, “All in good time, but you need your rest.  My name is Onna.  Daughter of Sokka and Suki.”  My eyes widened to hear that.  And I said warily, “Are you going to try and send me back?”  She shook her head with a small smile and replied, “The duty of every Kyoshi Island citizen is to serve our Avatar.  If you feel it is best to go out into the world, we will not stop you.”  For the next four days, I remained on the island.  I sparred with the legendary Kyoshi warriors, and they gave me two of their metal fans, inspired by the weapons of the great Avatar Kyoshi.  They then gave me a proper boat and plenty of supplies before I set off back on the seas.  But my time here was not finished yet.  I resolved to see the Unagi one more time.

My boat was positioned in the bay when I felt the great serpent break the surface of the water.  Its eyes fixed themselves upon my small boat and I stood up staring at the creature.  I remembered my lesson with Suyin and planted my feet.  When the created blasted me with a spray of water, I did not move and inch and froze the spray, leaping atop it and sprinting towards the creature.  With a blast of air, I jumped onto the creature’s head and placed my hand between its eyes.  I felt my eyes glow and I connected with the beast.  For a moment, the two of us were one.  I knew then that I had met my animal guide.  I projected my thoughts into the serpent’s mind.  _Hello.  My name is Korra and I am the Avatar.  What is your name?_   A hissing sound was the response, yet I could somehow understand it.  _Hssss Unagi Hssss I feed Hssss Balance the seas Hssss._   I nodded and replied, _I understand.  You feed in these waters to bring balance to the ecosystem.  My duty as the Avatar is to bring balance to the world.  Will you accompany me on my journeys, Mighty Unagi?_ Its green eyes looked at me as though contemplating my thoughts and then finally answered.  _Hssss Yes Hssss._   I put my hand up and replied, _But no eating_ people.  It seemed to begrudgingly accept that caveat.  I then thought back on the reason I still was on this journey.  The moon spirit.  I said to the creature, _Also, may I call you Luna?_    It nodded in acceptance at the name.  I took a seat on the serpent’s head and took hold of its two barbels.  I said with a spirited shout, “Let’s ride girl!”  The Unagi surged forward towards the shores of the Earth Kingdoms.  The nearest village on the coast according to my map was the small town of Chin.  When we got to the rocky cliffs of the Earth Kingdoms I said to my animal guide, “Luna, I have to get to Omashu, would you like to wait here?”  She hissed in my mind, _Hssss No Hssss Go with Avatar Hssss_.  I was shocked to see the large serpent spring from the water and scale the cliffs.  Its large body slithered up onto the land.  I smiled and patted her head saying, “Good girl.”  Rather than being soft, the animal’s hard scales were perfect for withstanding the punishing waves of the sea, or the jagged rocks of the mainland.

I hid the serpent out of sight in a nearby canyon and promised to return, but I wanted to explore the village of Chin.  Citizens of the Earth Kingdoms bustled to and fro, busy with their daily activities.  One of the village guards stopped me and said concernedly, “Where is your family young one?  A water tribe girl like yourself is pretty far from home in the Earth Kingdom.”  I smiled and replied, “I’m fine.  Thank you, but I can take care of myself.”  I walked the markets but found little of interest and decided to move on.  Luna and I rode over the terrain of the Earth Kingdom, stopping in villages from time to time.  On the surface the people seemed to be prospering.  But there was an underlying tension.  A dread.  And to make matters worse, I was being shadowed.  I hadn’t noticed it at first in Chin, but each town I passed through, I picked up several more tails.  I led them on a wild turkeyduck chase.  Finally, I had found what I was looking for.  A river.  I stopped Luna and whispered to her, “Wait here girl, I’m going to see what they want.  Be ready for a fight.”  I leapt down from the creature’s head into the water and sat down on the river bank in the lotus position waiting.  In a few moments, ten men and women wearing the garb of humble Earth Kingdom peasants walked over the crest of the hill and came into view.  From their gait, these were no simple farmers or artisans.  They were trained warriors.  Likely members of the Dai Li.  Spies and assassins.  A woman, ostensibly the leader of the group shouted to me, “It’s over young Avatar.  Surrender and we’ll take you before the Earth Queen for judgement.”  I grinned a bit cockily and replied, “Which Earth Queen was that?  I believe there are several.”  That riled them up and they attempted to trap me in a stone enclosure, but I was too quick.  Speed was essential.  I pulled water from the river and made an ice ramp for myself.  I slid up and threw icicle daggers at the enemy warriors injuring many of them.  Luna began blasting them with water from the river.  Finally, it was just me and the leader left.  I dodged blow after blow and used my water to redirect her rocks back at her as any water bender worth her salt would.  But rocks started to get through my defenses.  One connected with my jaw, throwing me into the creek.  In a fury, I leapt to my feet.  But, I planted my legs as Master Suyin had taught me.  I refused to be moved.  I would stand immovable as a rock.  I punched through the next boulder before it connected with me.  And the rock after that, I bended into a series of little pellets and bent them back at my opponent.  She fell to the ground screaming in pain from dozens of wounds.  I was an earth bender.  I stood over the fallen Dai Li and said menacingly, “Tell your lackeys not to mess with the Avatar.”  She nodded begrudgingly.  I leapt on Luna’s back and we continued on our journey across the rocky landscape of the Earth Kingdoms.


	4. Chapter 3 - Old Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

The only quick route to Omashu was through a small patch of land between the mountains.  However, my maps showed it to be a swamp.  Luna hissed in appreciation, _Hsss Swamp Hsss Water Hsss._   I chuckled and nodded replying, “I miss the water too, girl.  We’ll head through the swamps.”  Tenzin had told me about wild tribes of primitive water benders that lived in these isolated swamps.  There were also legends of dark shamans, and deadly spirits that roamed through the mystical swamps, but with Luna by my side, I wasn’t too worried.  Over a mountainous ridge I gasped seeing what lay below.  There were so many trees.  So much green.  I had seen trees in the Earth Kingdom as we traveled, but much of the land was arid.  This was a plain of green as far as the eye could see.  Luna slithered down the hill and we entered the trees below.  I grinned and leapt from the creature's back, allowing my toes to luxuriate in the water.  It was covered with algae and swamp scum but feeling water on my toes again was worth it.  I hadn’t felt any aside from a few streams since arriving at Chin village a week ago.  Everything around us was so verdant and alive.  I giggled watching chicken possums scurry through the branches.  Luna seemed to appreciate the water, repeatedly shooting streams on top of her scales.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but we were being watched.  Vines shot out at us from dozens of directions, originating from numerous vine monsters wearing masks.  I grinned realizing this trick.  Master Katara had told me about the vine benders of the swamps.  And she had taught me how to practice their art.  I concentrated on the water within the plants and pulled them away from their masters until they lay in a heap.  Making a ramp of ice, I landed atop the vines and looked down upon one of the many Foggy Swamp tribes.

A middle-aged woman, wearing only leaves and vines to cover her intimate areas, stepped forward and said calmly, “Apologies.  We saw that serpent of yours and thought you’d be trouble, but you’re our kin.”  I nodded and replied, “It is a pleasure to meet you.  My name is Korra.”  As I prepared to jump down and speak further with the vine benders, I felt myself losing consciousness and begin falling.  _I was in the swamp with Sokka and Katara.  But I had gotten separated from them.  I experienced visions and began chasing the apparition of a laughing girl with a winged pig.  Toph!_   I came back to consciousness and saw that I was surrounded by Luna.  She had wrapped her body protectively around the area of ground where I was laying.  I stood up shakily and said, “Thank you.  I’m okay now Luna.”  The vine benders were no longer in sight.  I imagined that Luna must have scared them off after I fell.  For some reason, I felt that Toph was connected to this swamp.  She could be the earth bending teacher I was looking for.  I somehow knew that placing my hand on one of the tree roots could spiritually connect me to any point in the swamp.  My hand touched the tree and my eyes began to glow.  I felt my energy flying across the swamp to the center.  The great tree.  Toph sat cross legged on a root and appeared to be meditating.  She opened one eye and said annoyedly, “I know you’re watching.  Are you just gonna stand there slack jawed and googly eyed or are you gonna come here?”  I jolted out of my vision and hopped atop the Unagi.  We zipped through the swamp waters until we finally found the tree.

I climbed the roots and branches feeling bruised and tired by the time I reached the top.  Stepping over the edge, I saw Toph.  Her hair was steel grey and her skin was wrinkled.  Her blind eyes were milky white, and she wore a green tunic and some trousers in the style of the Earth Kingdoms.  She looked in my direction and smiled, saying, “Nice to see you again, Twinkle Toes.”  I said in surprise, “You know who I am?”  Toph nodded and replied, “I’d recognize those dainty little footsteps anywhere.  So, what brings you here young Avatar?”  I sat down across from her and answered, “My name is Korra.  I left the Southern Water Tribe to study the elements and spend time in the world.  I’m on my way to Omashu.”  Toph looked a bit nostalgic and said, “Omashu.  The great metal city.  It was my home for many years.  My daughter Lin is the Queen there.  You will find a warm welcome young Avatar.  And I can feel your large friend restlessly swimming down there.  You’ll be safe for the rest of your trip.  Omashu's not far.  Why stop to dig up an old fossil like me?”  I bowed my head and answered humbly, “I began learning from your granddaughter Suyin before I left.  She was a good teacher, but she and Tenzin wanted to keep me locked away.  I would be honored to learn from you, Master Toph.”  She chuckled at that and replied pensively, “When Aang died, I abdicated my rule of Omashu to my daughter, Lin.  She was smart and had a mind for ruling.  Far better than my own.  I was going to help the White Lotus find you and train you.  I split with them a few years ago after a … doctrinal dispute.  My knuckle headed grandson-in-law, and the others said it was the duty of the White Lotus to protect the Avatar, but they confused protection with imprisonment.  You weren’t supposed to find out you were the Avatar until you were sixteen years old.  That is the tradition.  But when your home was attacked by assassins, plans were … accelerated.  Tenzin, Suyin, Sokka, Katara, and the rest of the White Lotus holed you up in a compound as you know.  They trained you and kept you safe.  Don’t misunderstand me.  They had noble intentions, but I remember what growing up in a gilded cage was like.  I felt … called to this place.  I can see farther than I ever could before.  But I suppose I can take a break from my important business to teach you a few things.  It’ll be fun to pummel you in two lifetimes.”  She laughed uproariously at that.

The two of us trekked down the tree and waded through the waters until we found a small field of dry land.  Toph rose the ground and made a tall pillar to stand on.  She said, “Okay Twinkle Toes, I can tell that you’ve learned some bad habits from your past life.  Water is far too similar to air.  Both have a flow to them.  With Earth, you need to forget all of that.”  I said a bit defensively, “I used Master Suyin’s technique of planting my feet.  And I bent earth on the way here.”  She snorted at that and replied, “Moving a rock doesn’t make you an earth bender.  You need to feel one with the dirt and stone.  Think fast.”  A pillar of stone slammed into my back throwing me forward, face first into swamp water.  I spluttered and said with a bit of anger in my voice, “What was that for?!”  She was hunched over laughing and finally replied by saying, “Well aside from being hilarious, you need to listen.  Feel the stone under you as an extension of yourself.”  I stubbornly planted my feet and closed my eyes trying to listen as she said.  I … felt something.  I dodged one of the rocks aimed towards my form and punched straight through the next boulder.  I could feel the earth swallow my feet as though it were quicksand.  I nearly panicked but then used it to my advantage allowing my feet to dig even further into the earth.  With tremendous concentration, I formed a pillar of my own that propelled me into the air.  I landed in a crouch and pushed out my arms to stop two slabs of earth prepared to trap me.  There was a quiet clapping above me and Toph said, “Well done.  It took Aang far longer to understand the basics.  Air benders, always dodging everything.”  I was hunched over and breathing heavily.  I said incredulously, “Basics?!”  She nodded and snorted again replying, “What you thought I was giving it my all?  Kid I could crush you if I wanted to.  You have a lot left to learn.”

That night we sat around a small fire.  I managed to pull the residual water from the damp wood of this swamp and kindle a small blaze.  For dinner, we ate a few fish that I had bent out of the swamp water.  They were small and tasted of silt no matter how well I gutted and cleaned them, but my hungry stomach knew better than to turn its nose up at a meal.  My seal jerky and supplies from Kyoshi Island had been sparser as my journey continued so meals this last week had been supplemented by hunting and fishing.  But there was little game and few rivers to fish from in the dry Earth Kingdom.  The food was produced in settled farmlands.  Food I couldn’t afford.  So, many nights I sat around the fire hungrily eating a small piece of that jerky.  Toph said with a grin, “Good fish … earthy.”  I snorted at her joke and replied, “You said that I needed to become one with the element,” my face became serious and I asked curiously, “Will you come with me and help me train?”  She paused as she was about to take a bite and seemed startled by my question.  Finally, she answered, “I don’t know.  Where are you going, young Avatar?”  I paused considering her words and finally said with a fierce stubbornness, “I’m going to go where I’m needed most.  Ba Sing Se.”


	5. Chapter 4 - The Metal City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

Toph looked at me with an appearance of disbelief on her face and she said incredulously, “What, you have some kind of death wish kid?”  I shook my head vehemently and replied, “I’m the Avatar.  It is my job to maintain peace between the nations and serve as the bridge between worlds.  I can’t maintain the peace with Hou-Ting ready to trample across the Free Earth Cities!”  She stood up with a growl of annoyance and said, “Maybe Tenzin and the White Lotus were right to keep you locked away for your own safety.”  I jutted my chin out willfully and shouted, “I’m done being a-afraid of Hou-Ting and her assassins!”  Toph’s expression softened a bit and she put a hand on my shoulder.  She said softly, “It is okay to be afraid, young one.”  I felt a tear slide down my cheek and I replied, “Avatar Aang was a hero at my age.  He stopped a war.  Traveled the world.  Faced down innumerable powerful enemies.  I’ve … done nothing.”  Toph snorted and said, “Aang wasn’t perfect … no offense.  He ran away one hundred years before his return, not wanting to be the Avatar.  It wasn’t his fault, but he wasn’t there to stop the war.  He was squeamish about doing what needed to be done in battle.  And he was scared plenty of times.”  I shook my head and said, “The stories said he was brave.  In my … memories, he was brave.”  Toph nodded and said with a quirked smile, “He was brave, it’s true.  But bravery doesn’t mean having no fear.  It means pushing forward and fighting on even when the fear starts to make your stomach slosh and your knees buckle.  It’s damn foolish, but if you are going into the Armadillo-Lion’s den … I have to go and make sure you don’t get yourself killed.”  I hugged the old woman, happy that she was coming along, and felt her awkwardly pat me on the back.

The next week on the road to Omashu passed without incident.  I offered a place for Toph to sit on Luna’s back, but she frowned and replied, “Can’t see on that thing.  I’ll keep up.”  She did.  A perpetual rock slide propelled her forward at the serpent’s speed.  We would make camp each night and share small amounts of food before going to sleep.  Finally, the great city of Omashu was before our eyes.  Built by the first earth bender, Oma, after the death of her lover, Shu, the city stood proudly as a solitary pillar in a valley surrounded by mountains.  The city’s height meant that any invading army would have to march over the ornate metal bridge that connected it to the mountains.  Looking down, I saw humble farming villages and a river dotting the valley below.  Luna whispered in my mind, _Hsss River Hsss Go? Hsss_.  I nodded my head with a chuckle and replied, “We can walk the rest of the way ourselves girl.  Behave yourself.  We’ll be back soon.”  She took off down the mountainside and as we began to walk across the bridge I could see the serpent luxuriating in the waters below.

I looked in awe at Omashu.  I had seen old sketches of the city before the age of metal bending and it was very beautiful, but since the discovery of the bending style, the city had revolutionized itself.  Proud metal towers stood tall along the city’s pyramids, only intercepted by Omashu’s many chutes made of stone, used for transportation of goods throughout the city.  Toph smiled wistfully and said, “I can see that city.  Even without using my feet.  Every rock or slab of metal.  Every alley.  Every office.  Every restaurant.  I helped build them.”  I nodded curiously and asked, “Why did you decide to make everything out of metal?”  She grinned conspiratorially and said, “Thousands of people in that city are earth benders.  Aside from elite members of the royal guard, military, and police forces, the city’s metal benders number in the dozens.  Less risks of break ins, or destruction of property when most of the city can’t bend what the buildings are made of.”  I nodded at her words thoughtfully.  It was smart.  And it made the city very beautiful.  At just that moment, the sunset reflected off the buildings, shining with hues of orange, red, and purple.  As we walked up to the gate I asked Toph, “Why aren’t more people able to metal bend?”  She thought about my words and answered, “Many can’t learn to see like I do.  I can see the bits of earth that remain in metal.  The unrefined particles.  Some lack that imagination to understand that there is more to the world than what meets the eye.  Also, as the founder of the art, I was able to pick who studied it and my standards were high.  Aang managed to learn a bit of metal bending in his life, although he was no master like yours truly.”  She smirked cockily as she said that.”

As we stepped up to the gate, a squad of ten soldiers stood guard wearing bright green tunics with pieces of metal armor incorporated to protect the chest and shoulders.  They all held metal spears.  The leader of their group was an older man who had obviously spent much of his life outdoors.  His skin was the tan color of a person perpetually exposed to the sun and his hands looked calloused and rough.  He seemed to be resting his weight on the spear in his hands as though he’d fall over without it.  He grunted to Toph and said with a wry grin, “Knew you’d be back some time.”  Toph snorted and punched him in the shoulder saying, “What, our daughter demoted you, Yan?”  He shook his head and replied, “Nah.  I requested gate duty.  Wanted to be the first face you saw when you got back.”  The two of them kissed.  _Bleh.  What was with grown-ups and kissing each other?_   Toph said, “This bundle of rocks is my husband.  Captain Yan of Omashu’s Royal Guard.”  I shook his hand but when he looked down at my water tribe clothing, his eyes widened.  He fell to his knees and bowed his head saying, “It is an honor, Avatar Korra.  Queen Lin has been awaiting your arrival.”  I grimaced knowing what that meant.

Toph and I stood before the impassive face of Queen Lin Beifong.  She said calmly, “Welcome to the Free City of Omashu, Avatar Korra.  We are happy to host you here.  Hello, mother.  We hadn’t been expecting your arrival.  Have you finally come home for good?”  Toph scoffed at her daughter and replied, “You know me too well for that, Lin.  I’m following the Avatar on her foolhardy crusade.”  As I expected, a figure leapt from the second floor of the gallery.  His feet landed gently on the ground after a slowed descent as though the air obeyed his commands, which it did.  Tenzin frowned at me before running forward and sweeping me into a hug.  I hugged him back.  He had always been a good friend and teacher.  A second father figure.  He said sternly, “You scared us all half to death, Korra.  How could you run away like that?”  I pulled away and said, “I had dreams about Avatar Aang and the Earth King.  I know what I need to do.  I’m needed in Ba Sing Se.”  Tenzin turned towards Toph and scowled saying, “You filled her head with this nonsense.  She isn’t ready!”  Toph bunched up her fists and replied, “I told her it was a bad idea too, but I’m ready to serve the Avatar in her mission to maintain peace between the nations.  Are you?”

That night, I was sequestered away in a beautifully designed room at the Royal Palace.  However, there was no exit except for a metal wall that the royal guards sealed after me.  Tenzin had refused to be swayed and insisted that I return with him to the South Pole.  I was sullenly escorted to my quarters and we were set to leave the next morning.  I sat down on my bed and began meditating.  My tutors had always remarked that I was adept with the spiritual element of bending.  Being connected to Yue and La as a Water bender only aided this connection.  They were the most powerful spirits in the mortal plane of existence and had gifted their powers of bending to the members of the Water Tribes.  I opened my eyes and saw the blue spectral form of a familiar woman staring back at me.  Her face was painted, and she wore the green armor of … Kyoshi.  I gasped and said in shock, “Avatar Kyoshi?”  She nodded and replied, “Yes, young Avatar.  Your spirit called me here.  What troubles you?”  I closed my eyes and explained everything that had occurred over the last few weeks.  She listened attentively and lowered her head in shame saying, “The formation of the Dai Li and the safe guarding of Ba Sing Se’s domination of the continent was my biggest failure as Avatar.  Now you must fix my mistakes, Korra.  Grave dangers will test you in the weeks to come, but I believe you will come out stronger for it.  I can help you escape from this place.”  I nodded giving my assent to her plan and felt my eyes begin to glow.  I was Kyoshi.  With my fans, I bent the metal doors back and stepped through.  Kyoshi left me and I nearly fell to my knees in exhaustion but powered forward.

I crept through the palace but being discovered was inevitable.  Omashu’s Royal Guard was well trained.  As one of their members raised the alarm, the water from my pouch was in constant motion.  I deflected oncoming blasts of stone and whipped the water at soldiers, knocking them unconscious.  I burst through the front doors of the palace and leapt upon one of the delivery chutes, sliding down through the city at a breakneck speed.  I smiled feeling the freedom and the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair.  When I reached the walls of the city, I created a pillar of stone from the street below me and shot myself into the air.  I landed on the other side of the wall, slowing my descent with a burst of air.  Luna remained in the river below.  I dove off of the bridge, willing the water to catch me and deposit me on the serpent’s back.  I whispered to her, “Okay, girl.  Time to head to Ba Sing Se!  Quickly!”  The serpent hissed in approval and we shot forward upon the landscape.


	6. Chapter 5 - Korra Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

The heat of the Earth Kingdom’s unrelenting sun was difficult to take this past week.  My thick overcoat and trousers had long been deposited in my pack, and I wore short leg coverings and an undertunic.  This is what I would normally wear during training or before I went to sleep, but the heat was too unbearable to wear normal water tribe garb.  Luna was feeling the effects of the blazing weather as well, moving at a sluggish pace.  My head was constantly at a swivel, making sure that there was no flying bison in the air above us.  We traveled in a serpentine pattern … ironically enough … to throw off pursuit.  From what I could gather, this was the dry season.  The few farms we passed had stunted crops that looked ready to wither and die.  The people that watched the unagi pass fearfully, looked emaciated with their ribs showing.  The sight made my heart ache.  At the first farm I saw, I dismounted the creature and walked towards the residents.  I reached into my pack and withdrew the last of my jerky.  These people needed it more than I did.  But they flinched away from me.  A woman who appeared to be mother to the five children chased me off with a broom.  I couldn’t understand what had happened to these people.  At each other homestead where I stopped, I received a similar welcome.  These people were hostile towards strangers.  They were afraid.  That night, I ate the last of my seal jerky feeling guilty while I did.

A few days later I was nearly delirious with hunger and thirst when I saw what must have been a mirage.  It was a small town and a sad little creek ran nearby.  It was little more than a trickle, but Luna and I rushed for it with a reckless abandon.  I fell on my knees and began greedily drinking some of the water and filling my water pouch.  It wasn’t a mirage after all.  As the cool water touched my lips, my mind was filled with a vision. 

_I was a little girl living in an Earth Kingdom village.  I was tall for my age with awkward gangly limbs.  But from a young age, I was a gifted earth bender.  When playing ball with the local boys, I always beat them, and had trouble making friends.  My father was a brave warrior and taught me how to fight.  He gave me two fans.  At first I frowned and said, “I want a weapon, not a frilly fan.”  He held up the fans and showed me that they were made of metal and could redirect attacks.  He said proudly, “You are a fierce warrior, daughter.  But you may not always be able to carry a weapon with you.  However, nobody will question a woman holding a fan.”  I understood his wisdom.  In the blink of an eye, I was a teen walking with my friends along the docks of a nearby town.  The sailors liked to carouse around and harass or attack local women.  One of them grabbed a friend of mine lewdly, so I sent a rock into his face, breaking his nose, and knocking all of his teeth out.  His comrades attacked, but I used my metal fans to redirect their attacks and send rock at them until they too were left in a heap on the ground.  Over the coming weeks, I trained my friends to defend themselves and we became a group of warriors dedicated to protecting our village.  They emulated the armored green dress, and face paint that I favored.  And they chose to use fans as I had.  When I was sixteen I had to leave my village.  I was revealed to be the Avatar and gifted a golden headdress.  I spent a decade travelling the world and learning the other three elements.  I learned to speak to my past lives and enter the Avatar State._

_When I reached the age of forty-two, a warlord named Chin the Conqueror sought to take advantage of the Earth King’s unpopular rule and led a reign of terror through the continent.  I stopped him at the entrance to my homeland and separated the peninsula from the mainland with my use of the Avatar State.  Chin fell to his death.  Soon after, I was called to Ba Sing Se by the Earth King who desired that I put down a peasant revolt against his rule.  I refused and defeated his guards when they tried to arrest me.  I forced the Earth King into a compromise which would give the peasants a voice in governance.  In exchange, I trained an elite guard for the King that would defend the culture of Ba Sing Se.  The Dai Li.  My greatest mistake.  The next two centuries passed with an unprecedented level of peace.  I married and had children.  And I lived to the age of two hundred and thirty years.  Friends and enemies alike gibed that I was simply too stubborn to die.  My time as the Avatar was characterized by a commitment to justice, even with harsh methods if necessary._

I opened my eyes and it seemed as though no time had passed, but I had just relived the memories of Avatar Kyoshi.  A lifetime.  I led Luna through the small street and desperately began looking for a food vendor.  Shutters were closed, and doors were locked as I walked through town.  Ahead of me, I saw a boy who looked to be a year or two younger than I.  He had black hair with a curlicue draped on his forehead, and his green eyes were alight with fear.  He was struggling against a group of men dressed in the garb of … the Imperial military.  I muttered a curse under my breath and knew that I couldn’t let this continue.  I stepped up towards the men and said angrily, “Hey, what are you doing with him!”  One of them turned with a sneer and replied, “Run home little girl if you know what’s good for you.  This isn’t your fight.  This kid’s an earth bender and we’re taking him into the army.  Queen’s orders.”  I had heard about the royal edict declaring that earth benders were required to serve in the Earth Queen’s army for a period of no less than ten years.  A mass draft had gone up through the kingdom a few years ago.  Escalation for a war many quietly muttered.  I scowled and slammed my foot on the ground hitting the four men with pillars of stone that knocked them into a nearby wall.  I shouted to the kid, “Run!”  He nodded fearfully.  I cracked my neck and grinned at the chance to deal with these bullies.

We faced off across from each other.  The men looked dazed from my attack but were rapidly regaining their bearings.  Two of them wielded spears.  Non-benders.  The other two had no visible weapons.  They were earth benders.  The very ground was their weapon.  With a series of well timed tosses of boulders, I had knocked both of the non-benders from their feet into a state of unconsciousness.  The two benders had managed to deflect my throws towards them and returned fire.  I dipped and dodged with my natural agility, leaping through the air.  A small crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle and I heard mutterings of, “She’s an earth bender,” “This’ll bring us nothing but trouble,” and “At least they didn’t get little Bolin.”  So, that was the boy’s name.  I needed to end this fight before anyone got hurt and decided to do something unexpected.  I ducked in close to my two opponents and channeled the water from my pouch towards both of their heads, freezing them in a block of ice.  I then leapt in the air and brought my leg up in a wide arcing kick, shattering the ice around their heads and knocking them into unconsciousness as well.”  That was when the crowd fell silent.  I heard a shout of, “She’s the Avatar!”  They glowered at me with a hateful silence.  One by one, they began picking up stones and throwing them at me.  I pleaded with them, “Stop!  I’m here to help you!”  I used my bending to throw most of the rocks aside, but one snuck through my guard.  There were just too many.  The stone struck me on the cheek, leaving a nasty cut.  Suddenly, my eyes began to glow.  I felt myself recede into my own body.  I held the two fans that the Kyoshi warriors had gifted to me.  I swept them and slammed the mob into buildings on either side of the street.  They laid on the ground in a heap groaning in pain, likely suffering from several broken bones.

I looked down at the fans in my hands with an expression of horror.  What had I just done?  I saw the kid named Bolin looking at me in shock.  I said to him, “Hey kid.  You can come with me.”  He shook his head and ran in the opposite direction.  I sighed and leapt atop Luna as we set out across the landscape yet again.  Tears stung my eyes.  I missed my parents.  I missed Tenzin and Katara.  I missed my instructors.  I felt like a monster for hurting those villagers.  I voice spoke in my head.  Kyoshi.  _I guided your actions, Korra.  All you did was defend yourself.  Those villagers would have gladly killed you and sold your corpse to the Earth Queen.  If you fall, the Earth Kingdom is doomed._   I didn’t know whether I should thank or curse my past life.  In that moment, I had never felt more alone. 


	7. Chapter 6 - Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

I sat beside a small brook.  The desolate drought plagued farmlands had receded to meager forests with a few streams.  I was nearing my destination.  Full-Moon Bay.  It was a major port city within a cave network that sent ferries to Ba Sing Se.  I wouldn’t be taking a boat though.  I could feel Luna’s excitement as we got closer and closer to the sea.  These weeks of travel on the dry land had been difficult for her.  I knew I couldn’t take her into Ba Sing Se itself, so she would be able to luxuriate in the seas for a time.  I placed my water covered hand on the deep gash in my cheek.  The cooling feeling of healing soothed my wound and the dried blood washed away.  Looking at my reflection in the water I saw that the cut had closed itself and was fading into a thin white line of scar tissue on my copper skin.  With streams came food.  I was able to bend fish from the water, providing sustenance for Luna and I.  Ever since I had left the Earth Kingdom village, Kyoshi had been silent.  I had received no further guidance from my other past lives.  Every vision I had was inadvertent, from my dreams in the South Pole to my vision at the village creek.  I had never been able to enter the Spirit World despite repeated attempts.  Katara had told me not to be disheartened.  Aang hadn’t entered the Spirit World until he was my age during his trip to the North Pole.

My tutors told me that spiritual places like the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole made it simpler to enter the other realm.  On instinct, I placed my hand to the ground.  A whistling song hummed in my ear.  Like a leaf on the wind.  It seemed to be pulling me along.  I wasn’t sure how far I walked, but I left the forests behind and hiked atop a rocky outcropping.  The whistling continued until I found myself looking down into a hole that went deep inside the stone.  In an almost trance like state, I leapt down the hole, falling through the darkness until I hit the water.  An underground lake.  I propelled myself to the surface and let my eyes adjust to the darkness.  All that illuminated my surroundings was a flicker of light far above and the pale glow of luminescent crystals embedded in the stone.  I gracefully glided through the refreshingly cool water until I reached an island amidst the lake.  There was a stone statue amidst a forest of reeds.  It was a crocodile.  I sat down in front of the statue and closed my eyes before placing my hand on the statue.  A rush of energy surged through me and my eyes began to glow.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a confusing landscape.  I was standing waste deep in brackish water with similar reeds dotting across my view.  I shouted out curiously, “Hello?!  I am the Avatar!  The bridge between our two words!  Is there anyone here?!”  A shadow fell over me and I turned to see the looming form of a giant crocodile.  It looked at me and raised a claw towards my head.  I should have felt fear, but I stood perfectly still.  The creature’s claw gently touched my forehead and I heard its voice in my mind.  _Hello Avatar.  You have used my gateway to enter the Spirit World.  You are welcome to do so, but you will not be able to return … not unless you make peace with your own reflections._

I continued walking through the swampy terrain, mindful of the creature’s warning, and fearful that I could be trapped here for the remainder of my days.  I seemed to be growing increasingly lost.  Everything looked the same as though I were walking in endless circles through the water.  A voice spoke behind me.  _“Korra, you’ll never be lost if you know yourself.”_   I turned in shock to see a bald man with a black beard, and arrow tattoos.  He wore the garb of an air bending master and looked like Tenzin.  I gaped in awe, “Aang?”  He nodded with a small smile and replied, _“It’s good to see you Korra.  I know of your quest through the Earth Kingdom and I know of your troubles.”_ Other figures materialized.  I saw a white bearded fire bender … Roku.  I saw Kyoshi.  A male water bender who I knew was named Kuruk.  There were hundreds of others arrayed behind the others … reflections of myself.  With a wave of Kuruk’s hand the waters receded and we sat down upon the now dry ground.  I said to the other Avatar spirits, “I don’t know what I should do … I don’t ever want to go into the Avatar State again.  Those people …”  Aang looked sympathetically towards me and said, _“I feared the Avatar State as well.  Yet it is only dangerous until you learn to master it.”_ Roku chimed in, _“Yet you must be careful Korra.  Death in the Avatar State could end the line forever.  Our spirit would cease to be.”_   I nodded in understanding.  Katara had told me this during our lessons.  I then said, “How do I defeat the Earth Queen?”  Aang said serenely, _“I dealt with Hou-Ting’s father and also with her during the years before my passing.  They were always grasping after power, but they were never stupid.  I believe that Hou-Ting can be reasoned with into forging a lasting peace with the Free Earth Cities.”_   Kyoshi scoffed and replied resolutely, _“I’ve known rulers like this Hou-Ting during my time as the Avatar.  Corrupt.  Unjust.  You must be ready to do what needs to be done in Ba Sing Se, Korra.”_   Roku nodded his head and added, _“If you die on your journey, young Avatar, you shall be reincarnated into the Earth Kingdom.  This is why you were targeted as a child.  The Queen desires a puppet Avatar that she can find and keep on a leash.”_   Aang looked disapprovingly at his two past lives and my former selves began to argue among themselves all the way through the ages.

That was until a quiet, yet commanding voice said, _“Enough.”_   A young woman with cream colored skin, hair the color of chestnuts, and verdant green eyes, stepped forward past all of the others.  She smiled kindly at me and said, _“I am happy to meet you Korra.”_   I asked curiously, “Who are you?”  She chuckled and replied, _“I am you.  My name is Yi and I will tell you the story of how I became the first Avatar.”_


	8. Chapter 7 - Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

_It all began countless ages ago, Korra.  The heavens themselves were still in their infancy.  Qi worked its way through the cosmos bringing energy and life.  The first children of Qi were the spirits.  The Sun Father was Xihe.  Qi made him a sister named Tui who embodied the Moon.  Qi made the Lord of the Earth, Tudijun.  And the Lady of the Oceans, La.  The spirits built their domains and made offspring of their essence, in their own image.  The stars, the trees, the animals, the rivers and lakes, and the mountains.  Qi gifted its energy to the spirits to breath life into these creations.  In this way, Qi became the Lady of the Air.  Tui and La became lovers and combined their powers to tame the shear ferocity of the seas when they threatened to drown the domain of Tudijun._

_Eons after the creation, three of the four great spirits, Xihe, Tudijun, and Tui and La as one, chose to create new children.  They molded mankind into the three races and gifted them a small fragment of their ability to control the elements.  Tui and La taught the first water benders how to push and pull the tides.  Tudijun instructed the badgermoles to find two worthy souls to learn earth bending so they might pass on what they had learned.  These two were Oma and Shu as you well know.  Xihe bade the dragons to watch over his people and train the worthy to become benders of fire.  However, the peace did not last long.  Nobody knows who began the wars, but the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdoms, and Sun Warriors soon fought a bloody conflict.  The mass destruction of the war between mankind drove a wedge between the great spirits.  Xihe, Tudijin, Tui and La, as well as all of their offspring began a war against each other.  Qi watched in horror and wept.  For she was the Mother of all Spirits and the Grandmother of Man.  She sacrificed most of her strength desperately trying to end the war, but she failed.  As she wept, she heard the prayers of a peasant and his wife.  They had managed to avoid the destruction of the war by living above the clouds in a mountain range.  The wife was barren and the two wanted nothing more than to have a child, so they prayed to the Spirits.  Qi took pity on them and gave the last of her energy to form a child in the woman’s womb.  That child … was me._

_My parents named me Yi.  I knew a childhood free of war.  I played through the mountains and was gifted with the ability to manipulate the very air itself to the shock of my parents.  I learned how to use my powers by studying the Sky Bison that lived in the mountains.  Using the power of Qi, I bestowed the gift of air to other mountain dwellers seeking freedom from the death of the valley below.  We learned to ride the Sky Bison and bonded with them.  The peace was not destined to last.  Tudijun was furious that his mother had formed another child with her last breath and created a new nation of rivals living upon his mountains.  He sent vicious earthquakes to topple the mountain itself.  With land no longer being safe, I led my people to the only place left.  The ice.  We flew our Sky Bison to the North Pole.  The Water Tribes were suspicious of our people, but they warily allowed us to live on ice flows far away from their settlement due to our non-violent ways.  Something within me urged that I visit the Spirit Oasis within the city of the Northern Water Tribe.  It was difficult to infiltrate their most sacred place, but not impossible for one gifted with air._

_Inside, I met Tui and La.  They too were initially angered that their mother had given her life for me.  I was confused by what they had meant.  They explained that Qi had created a mortal host for her energy.  Me.  As the two were about to turn me away, I felt my eyes begin to glow.  A voice that did not sound like my own emanated from my mouth.  “I am the Avatar of Qi.  You will teach me water bending so I can bring peace and balance to this world.”  I was shocked by what had occurred but came to terms with my new role.  Tui and La taught me water bending.  I was in the North Pole for years mastering the art and I became a friend to the peoples of the Northern Water Tribe, learning their ways and customs.  However, I knew that my journey was not complete._

_I took my Bison on a journey to the Earth Kingdoms.  I flew to the place where I knew Tudijun would be.  The Great Divide.  It was an enormous depression in the earth where Tudijun had flattened the ground out of jealousy.  One of his mountain offspring proudly sought to reach higher than any of Tudijun’s own mountains.  He flipped the mountain and pushed it into the ground making the deepest canyon in the world.  I landed my bison and resolutely looked upon the Earth Spirit.  I did not flinch as he attempted to crush me with boulders, using the winds of the world to deflect the attacks and push him against the canyon walls.  My eyes glowed and I said furiously, “Teach me how to bend the earth so I can end this war, or I will end you.”  With the power of Qi, I forced Tudijun to teach me the power of earth bending.  I spent many years in Omashu perfecting the art and learning the diverse and hardy cultures of those who lived in the Earth Kingdoms._

_There was one element remaining.  I traveled far into the territories of the Sun Warriors.  I allowed myself to be captured and brought before their masters.  The dragons. Xihe ordered the dragons to slay me, but they ignored the wishes of their father.  The dragons deemed me worthy and granted me the gift of fire.  I again learned the ways of the Sun Warriors for many years, making friends and learning how to bend fire.  Xihe was furious that his children, the dragons, had disobeyed him.  He created nine smaller suns in the sky as his children to punish the world with unending heat and suffering.  Forests burned.  Oceans ran dry.  The famines and death were unfathomable.  I called on the power of all the elements and upon my Qi to go into the Avatar State.  In a tremendous battle, I felled the suns and had Xihe at my mercy.  Yet the lessons I had learned had been important ones.  As the water benders knew, the world was determined by balance.  I left Xihe alive on the condition that he forever be banished from the mortal world while Tui and La were allowed to remain.  The wars among Spirits and Men had nearly destroyed all of creation.  Calling upon the powers of Qi, I placed the barrier between the mortal and spirit worlds.  Only the strong of will would be able to breach the barrier and only for a short time.  With the war between the Spirits and the Nations finally over, I was an old woman.  I lived a fulfilling life and I died several decades later.  But that was not the end.  All living things are reborn, but my connection to Qi also gave me a connection to my reincarnations.  If I’ve learned one thing over our many lives, Korra, it is this.  We are not infallible.  We are all different.  Molded by different times and different people.  But our goal is forever the same.  Serve spirits and man.  Be the bridge between worlds.  Keep the peace and maintain balance._

_One of our lives asked me once, ‘Why didn’t Qi simply fight the Spirits herself?’  I realized the importance of our role then.  We need to learn to connect with and love the world and all the people who live in it.  That is the only way we will be dedicated to our duty.  Saving the world.  Over and over.  As many times as it takes._


	9. Chapter 8 - Harmony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

My eyes were wide and my mouth agape throughout Yi’s story.  We were all the embodiment of Qi.  I closed my eyes and could almost picture the Lady of the Air who gave her life for us.  Everything became clear for me.  I bowed my head to Yi and said, “Thank you.  Your words have helped me more than you can know.  I understand now.  There is no right answer for this problem.  There is only my answer.”  It was both liberating and daunting to realize that I couldn’t rely on my past lives to tell me the one correct or moral choice to make.  I had to make my own decision and live with the consequences.  Yi smiled and bowed her head to me.  The thousands of other Avatar bowed their heads as one.  I closed my eyes with a small smile lighting up my face, before I turned and walked away from my past lives.  My body felt lighter and more in tune with the Qi flowing within me.  Scholars and gurus alike said it was the Qi running through all of us that enabled bending and granted life to all beings.  That it bound the cosmos together.  Being the physical embodiment of Qi in the world was humbling.

I waded through the swamp waters and reached the Giant Crocodile Spirit.  He placed his claw on my head and said, _Go in Peace, Avatar.  I wish you good fortune._   A bright light dominated my view and when I opened my eyes again, I was looking at the statue of the crocodile in this hidden sacred cavern.  I stood and bended the waters inside the cavern to raise me back atop the rocky escarpment I had jumped into.  Luna looked up at me from below.  The trek down was tiresome, but at the same time, invigorating.  Every birdsong.  Every rustle of the leaves.  Every breath of air.  It all seemed to mean more now.  I could feel the residual Qi within all of it.  The gift of life that Qi had bestowed to us all.  In that way, were we not all Avatars?  Manifestations of Qi in this world.

I leapt atop Luna’s back and said with a smile, “Come on girl.  Let’s get going.”  The serpent, reinvigorated by the cooler forests and creeks around us, sprung forward with newfound speed and energy.  We travelled this way for many days until reaching a town.  I told Luna to stay in the forest nearby and stay out of sight.  A town this close to Full-Moon Bay was almost certainly aligned with Ba Sing Se, so this trip was likely foolish, but I needed to hear what was happening in the rest of civilization after spending so long in the wilderness.  My clothing and skin tone would likely give me away as a member of the Water Tribes, but I couldn’t be the only water bender in the entirety of the Earth Kingdoms.  I palmed the soothing spirit stone that my mother had given to me at a young age.  Each night I spent away from my parents on this journey, I held the stone close and believed in my heart that I would see them again soon.  It provided comfort for me now.  I walked up to the main street and entered the town with a casual gait, although my eyes darted about, wary for any sign of a trap.  Imperial soldiers patrolled the roads in small squads of two or three men.  Yet none gave me a second glance.

I stopped at a food stand in the bustling central market and saw its proprietors.  They were an elderly woman and a young boy who was most likely her grandson.  The boy who was only a year or so older than me said, “Hello, would you like to buy any Lychee Nuts?”  I looked at the boy’s threadbare clothes and visible ribs.  His grandmother looked as poverty stricken.  These Lychee Nuts probably took them forever to pick, and they weren’t very good quality.  I would have given them money if I could, but I didn’t have any with me.  Instead, I pulled out a half-dozen fish I had managed to catch on my way here.  I handed them to the boy and said with a small smile, “Here.  I hope this helps.”  He frowned and said with a bit of a harsh tone, “We don’t need charity.”  I shook my head evenly and replied, “It isn’t charity.  It is a gift.”  He nodded his head a bit and then apologetically said, “T-thank you.”  The old woman silently bowed her head to me with a look of gratitude in her eyes.  I began walking away when I heard a conversation a few stalls over.  “Did you hear?  The Avatar destroyed an entire town out in the farming provinces.”  “No!  Why would that monster do that?”  I rushed past.  These people were taught to hate me.

I heard other conversations as I walked by.  Most focused on rising tensions in the Earth Kingdoms and the rumors of a war.  Others were mainly local gossip, but one bit was pretty interesting.  “I heard the raiders are coming again today?”  “No.  They already shook us down for protection this month.”  As if called, I saw a group of rough looking men and women walking out of the nearby forests brandishing all sorts of weapons from broadswords and daggers, to war hammers, axes, and spears.  Their leader, a one-eyed man wearing an eye patch stepped forward and shouted out, “Okay!  Collection time!  Everybody cough up your taxes or we won’t be able to guarantee the safety of your establishments.”  The town guards seemed to be green.  Not battle-hardened soldiers and shrunk away from the threat.  I stepped forward and said to the leader, “You’re just common thieves.  I’m not afraid of you.”  He snorted and said, “That’ll be your last mistake little girl,” right before he threw a dagger where I had previously been standing.  In the next instant, I was inside his guard and had bended the earth to throw him high in the air.  With a whip of frozen water from my pouch, five of his warriors were down on the ground clutching at grievous wounds.    I created a pillar of stone and shouted from it, “My name is Korra.  This town and all others are under my protection.  I’m giving you the generous offer to leave with your lives if you never come back.  That offer is rescinded as soon as your boss hits the ground.  The criminals stumbled away back into the woods before the man came back down towards the ground.  I made a cushion of air to stop his fall and said to the town guards, “Take him in.  Now.”  They hurriedly complied, arresting the man.”

None of the guards attacked me even though I revealed that I was the Avatar.  Whether it was out of fear or gratitude I would never know.  I figured it would be smart to make myself scarce however.  It felt good to help a town.  To bring a bit of harmony to these peoples’ lives.  We made camp that night only a day or two away from our goal, the port city of Full-Moon Bay.  I used a small fire to cook a couple of fish that I had caught.  As I was eating my evening meal, my feet felt that something was … wrong.  In an instant, I had bended the water to douse the camp fire and I sat in the darkness in complete silence.  With calculated movements, I crept forward towards the nearby road and looked out from cover in the dense foliage.  There was an army on the march.  Warriors kept walking past us by the thousands wearing the garb of the Imperial military.  I thought for a moment, there’s nothing in this direction except … Omashu.  I was too late.  The war had begun.


	10. Chapter 9 - War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, events or locations in this story. This is a work of fan fiction inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

Ba Sing Se’s Imperial Army was on the march.  I mirrored their movements for several days and observed.  Waiting and listening as Toph had taught me.  There were a disconcerting number of earth benders in the army, no doubt due to the Earth Queen’s draft.  If they were allowed to reach Omashu, thousands would die.  I meditated on the night before I decided I had to strike and called forward Avatar Kyoshi.  Her spectral form again sat before me in the lotus position and asked, “Hello Korra.  I can feel your distress.”  I nodded my head and answered her unasked question, “The Earth Queen’s forces are on the march.  I will face them tomorrow.  Any advice on the eve of battle?”  Kyoshi closed her eyes and replied, “Offer peace, but be prepared for war.  That was how I stood against Chin.”  I nodded at her words.  They were wise.  I asked, “Why didn’t Chin’s army continue fighting after he died?”  Kyoshi answered, “Tyrants who rule by fear inspire little love from their soldiers.  When they fall so too does their soldiers’ will to fight.”  The former Avatar dissolved away into the night sky as lightning butterflies danced about.  I felt a bit better armed with Kyoshi’s advice.  Yet I still slept uneasily that night.

The next morning as the sun rose, I sat calmly on the road ahead of the marching army.  At the sight of me, the column slowed and finally came to a halt.  A man at the head of the column said resolutely, “Little girl, you are impeding the march of the Earth Queen’s army.  Move or you’ll be moved.  I won’t ask again.”  I stood up and smiled slightly saying, “My name is Korra.  What is yours?”  My question caught him off guard and he said, “Chen.”  I tried out the name, “Chen.”  My face morphed into a mask of resolve and my eyes narrowed.  I then said, “Chen, your march threatens the lives of thousands of innocents in Omashu.  Some of whom are my friends.  I hope you understand why I can’t let you continue this march.  I’m offering you and your army a chance to escape with your lives.  And _I_ won’t ask again.”  He snorted in laughter and said incredulously, “One girl is going to stop an army?”  I whistled, and Luna sprayed water towards me.  I bended the water around me in the classic Octopus defensive style that Katara had taught me.  I shouted out using the winds to carry my voice farther, “Earth benders, I am the Avatar and I am not your enemy!  You have been conscripted into a war!  Forced to leave your homes to fight and die for a tyrant queen who will not mourn your deaths!  Leave now!  Return to your families!”  Many uneasily began muttering to themselves and then began a full tilt run back the way they had come.  Chen shouted out, “Cowards!  Men go after them!”  I wasn’t going to let that happen.  My eyes began to glow, and I felt flooded with the powers of my past lives.  With my fans, I directed the winds of the world to knock the pursuing army aside with gale force speeds.  A few well-placed stomps of my feet, lifted the earth on either side of the road, trapping the soldiers between two embankments.

At my display of power, thousands of soldiers ran back the way they had come screaming in terror.  With several more bursts of water that Luna had collected from a nearby river, I stood atop a whirlpool and directed shards of ice at the remaining soldiers.  The army was decimated and in headlong retreat.  I stood back upon the ground and the glow left my eyes.  Few were dead.  Most had chosen to flee or were injured by my ice and wind attacks.  Yet I accepted the minimal loss of life knowing that it had bought Omashu a reprieve in this war.  Power was a terrible thing.  But it was my burden to bear.  I saw Chen limping away with a nasty wound to his leg.  I walked up to him and said evenly, “Tell your Queen, that the Avatar will not stand by and let her bring war to the world.  Tell her that the Free Cities of the Earth Kingdom are under the Avatar’s protection.”  He gulped and nodded before continuing to flee.

I knew that warning would not be heeded.  This army was a large force, but Ba Sing Se had many more soldiers and they would regroup.  My mission was still the same.  I would need to infiltrate Ba Sing Se and end this war before it claimed more lives.  Luna and I set out across the landscape again, keeping the retreating soldiers at a cautious distance.  Finally, we saw the port city.  It was built within a cave network and had been used as a hidden refugee evacuation point during the Hundred Year War.  The city would be defended by hundreds of soldiers and the Dai Li would learn immediately of my arrival.  I had another plan.  Luna slithered up the mountainous cliffs around the city and finally down into the water.  She _Hsss_ ’d in approval after so long away from her natural element.  I internally vowed to not put her through such a trying time on land again if I could help it.  We dove below the waves to avoid being seen, and I bended a pocket of air around me as we traveled along.  We rode through the waters for hours until we came alongside an area that was commonly referred to as the Serpent’s Pass.  We made sure to give it a wide berth, knowing of the deadly sea serpent that maintained dominion over that territory.  I wouldn’t risk Luna’s life in a fight like that.  Finally, we reached the shores of the countryside not far from Ba Sing Se.  I leapt from Luna’s back and placed a hand on her head saying, _Thank you my friend.  If you must go, I will understand.  If not, I will return here for your when my mission in Ba Sing Se is complete._   The serpent nodded her head in acknowledgement and sunk below the waves.


End file.
